Pondering
by RepublicGurl
Summary: In which Kira takes some time to think about Life, the Universe and Everything... and is eventually joined by some friends. Slight Doc/Kira.


**Author's Note: **So this little ficlet is pretty much Kira-centric... though there is a slight mention of Eleya. (She doesn't make an actual appearance.) Slight warning; there is a very slight spoiler belonging to the Knight Class Story- but seeing as my fics mainly focus on the Knight... it's kind of a given?

Enjoy!

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**_::Pondering::_**

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In hindsight, Kira knows that moving constantly from one place to another does not bother her as much as one would assume it should. On one hand, being a runaway from a tyrant Empire doesn't leave the young woman with any desire to have remained in one place; and on the other, as a Jedi, travel comes with the territory.

This being acknowledged, Kira admits to herself that every once in awhile, it is pleasant to be _home. _And home, for her, means Tython. Currently sitting on the lawns, idly pulling at the grass blades and watching a few nearby Padawans practicing with combat training droids, Kira smiles softly to herself.

_Who would have ever thought I would come to find sitting around doing nothing as _pleasant, Kira thinks, somewhat bemusedly. When she'd been taken as Master Kiwiiks' Padawan, all she'd wanted was to go on adventures, save innocent people and prove to herself that she was more than her dark history made her out to be.

Now... having thwarted disaster after disaster, being promoted to a full Jedi Knight, and seeing what she has seen, Kira desires to laugh as how she now only wants to sit and do absolutely _nothing _for awhile.

It is not as if she has not earned the much needed respite, in any case.

Abruptly, Kira is brought out of her wanderings when a long shadow stretches over her, eclipsing the warm sunlight. Looking up, Kira doesn't even bother to be surprised at seeing Doc standing before her.

The man has an eerie ability of finding her, no matter where she is.

Kira does, however, start at seeing her former Master, Bela Kiwiiks, standing calmly at doc's side. The Togruta has healed spectacularly well since Tatooine- thanks to the amazing healers at the Temple. Her eyes, though, still hold remnants of the severe trauma she endured. Reassuringly enough, when Master Kiwiiks moves to sit next to Kira oon the grass, her gait is as graceful as ever.

Doc just plops himself down, sans ceremony, on her other side- bumping his shoulder against Kira's as he does so. When Kira cuts her eyes at him, Doc obnoxiously wiggles his eyebrows up and down suggestively. Master Kiwiiks barely holds back a snort, and though Kira turns her gaze back to the grass, she feels a small smile tugging at her lips all the same.

"Meeting over all ready?" Kira asks, referring to the Council meeting that had been called an hour earlier. Doc had wanted to go with Eleya- whose presence was mandatory -but Kira opted not to attend.

Master Kiwiiks nods, folding her hands neatly in her lap. "We heard rumors of Master Tol Braga's whereabouts and wanted Knight Shevani's insights."

Hearing Master Tol Braga's name, a cold shudder makes its way down Kira's spine. She swallows and hopes no one noticed.

"And?" Kira prods, though a smnall part of her wants to remain blissfully in the dark. Just hearing the Master's name brings back the unpleasant memories of those months imprisoned on the Emperor's Fortress.

"Just rumors," Doc supplies, leaning back onto his elbows so the rest of his body sprawls out on the lawn. "Pretty baseless."

Kira feels the tension in her muscles dissipate slowly.

"We'll find him, though." Kira hears herself say, voice full of conviction that she doesn't quite feel.

"Of that, I have no doubt," Master Kiwiiks says with a soft smile. "If your desire for justice is anything like Knight Shevani's..."

All three of them share a knowing look, as Eleya's drive for wanting to right a wrong- and going to great lengths to do so -is pretty legendary among the Order.

"... he won't be able to hide out for long," Doc finishes. When Kira spares him a glance, she sees he has a long blade of grass between his lips, being nibbled on. Doc, catching Kira's gaze, gives her a wink.

She flicks a blade of grass at him, and a small laugh slips from her throat when the man makes a dramatic show of rolling sideways on the lawn to avoid being hit.

"I thought Jedi didn't believe in unnecessary violence," Doc says with a mock pout, coming to rest flat on his back.

"Exceptions can be made," Kira replies, but instead of her usual snark, her tone is surprisingly affectionate. Now that Doc is laying completely in the grass, his hair is in full disarray and littered with dirt from the grass.

_What a mess, _Kira thinks to herself, warm mirth blossoming within the confines of her chest. Without thinking, she reaches out to comb Doc's hair. Her deft fingers move through warm, silky strands with purpose, and though it does not take her long to remove all of the detritus, no one can mistake her almost thoughtless gesture as anything other than tender.

Doc starts slightly, his surprised eyes finding Kira's. For her own part, Kira feels a slow heat rising to her cheeks and when she tries to swallow, she discovers her mouth is bone dry. It takes them both hearing Master Kiwiiks pointedly clearing her throat for their gazes to move away from each other. Kira pulls her hand away from Doc as if she's been burned, pulling the hand to her chest and wrapping it with her other hand.

Her eyes determinedly stay fixed ahead, back on the training Padawans.

_Why am I feeling so flustered? _Kira ponders, slightly annoyed with herself.

Doc looks at Master Kiwiiks, grinning without and semblance of self-consciousness.

"I prefer a soft touch than being punched," he confides, as if the gesture Kira has shown him is a regularity. (It really _isn't_...)

Master Kiwiiks looks between him and her former student, something unreadable in her eyes. After a moment, she settles for lifting an amused brow and replying dryly, "I'm sure."

Kira just wants to use the Force to make herself disappear, but knows that would also subject her to a sound lashing about using the Force injudiciously.

"Oh, hey- they're all coming out now, too." Doc says suddenly, sitting up properly next to Kira. He lifts an arm and waves it wildly, trying to catch someone's attention. Kira turns her head, trying to follow Doc's line of sight. It leads her to looking across two training fields, at the entrance steps to the main Temple, but at from an angle.

Coming down the steps with his trademark scowl was none other than Jedi Master Jaric Kaedan. Next to him was Grandmaster Satele Shan, and she appeared vaguely amused about something as she conversed with Master Kaedan. Kira takes a moment to wonder why Master Kaedan looks so put out- though pretty much everyone knows it doesn't take much of anything -and she does not get very far when the answer makes an appearance.

The young woman has to swallow down an un-Jedi like snort when Lord Scourge emerges onto the Temple steps, looking around imperiously as if he owns the place.

"And here I was hoping Master Kaedan and Lord Scourge would grow to like each other." Kira jokes aloud. Though Lord Scourge has been with them for a little under three Standard months now, many of the Jedi whose seen him and been in his company are still highly uneasy and wary of him. Master Kaedan, especially.

"Don't be ridiculous," Doc replies with an eye roll followed by a smirk. "It's understandable that Kaedan feels threatened by the Sith; he's finally found someone who glares more than he does."

At this, Kira loses herself in a laugh. Even Master Kiwiiks cannot escape unaffected; the corners of her mouth begin to lift into a half smile and she has to tilt her face away to regain control of her composure. Doc continues to wave his arm, moving to stand on his feet.

"Hey!" he bellows out, and Kira rolls her eyes. "Over here!"

_Trust him to always have to be seen _and _heard, _she muses. Funnily enough, the thought does not cause her irritation as it once would most certainly have. Instead, the though of Doc's eccentricities leaves her with the strangest sense of nostalgia.

With both Doc's and Master Kiwiiks' attention elsewhere, Kira takes a moment to glance at Doc's entire profile. From his tall frame and broad shoulders to his narrower waist and long, lean legs... Unbidden, something hot and foreign unfurls in Kira's chest, snaking its way down to pool in the pit of her stomach. It feels like a thousand hummingflies are swirling around in her gut.

For a brief moment Kira, confusedly, wonders if she's suffering from indigestion.

But then Lord Scourge is making his way over to them, his familiar glare in place, and Kira forgets the strange sensations. After all; there are more important things to worry about. Chances are her awkwardness will disappear and she will look back on this and laugh.

When Doc sits back down, once again bumping his shoulder against hers, the strange feelings rush back with a vengeance.

Kira sighs to herself, almost dejectedly.

_Or not,_ she thinks.

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**END.**

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**Author's Note 2: **Um... would anyone be willing for a full-length _SWtOR _story? 'Cuz... I'll do one. I just hafta think up of something really original (or spinning off game content)...

Heck, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm game with that, too! :)

Happy reading!


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